Leaving a Tokyo apartment: bills, accounts and refunds

Start with the notice clause in your apartment agreement, then identify which services are in your name. Internet equipment returns, final bills and a deposit refund may need arrangements before you leave. Contact your bank early too: its rules help determine how you can receive any money due after checkout.

Make a note of each deadline and anything you need to do in person. A phone number needed for verification and a bank account due to close are good examples of tasks to coordinate rather than leave until packing day.

1. Your housing agreement: confirm the end and handover

Check whether the agreement has a fixed end date, requires notice even at that date, or continues until you give notice. Follow the stated method and ask for written confirmation of the final day and amount due.

Arrange the key return and inspection. Ask what cleaning you should do yourself, what the mandatory departure-cleaning fee covers, and what must be removed. Book any required bulky-waste disposal before the final week.

If you are leaving early, request a calculation using your proposed date. Don't assume the deposit is your last rent payment or that returning the key stops all charges immediately.

2. Internet: account cancellation and equipment return

First confirm whether you own the internet contract. If the apartment includes the connection, ask what equipment stays in the home; don't cancel the building's service or post its router away.

For your own line, contact the company on the bill. Ask about the final service date, final charges and every item to return. NTT East warns that a return kit may arrive after your move-out if cancellation is requested close to departure. That makes the kit's delivery address and timing part of the cancellation plan.

NTT East's rental-equipment return page explains use of its kit and return through a post office or a convenience store handling Yu-Pack. Follow the instructions for your equipment and keep the dispatch receipt. A pocket-Wi-Fi rental has its own return method and deadline; check whether the deadline refers to posting or arrival.

If your service is sold by another company over an NTT line, use the contracting company's cancellation instructions. The internet guide helps distinguish an included connection from a service you arranged yourself.

3. Utilities: check ownership and access needs

Check which utilities you arranged yourself and which the rental company manages. For accounts that are yours, confirm the stop date, customer number and final payment method with each company.

Tokyo Gas says attendance is needed where staff cannot reach the meter without access, such as in an auto-lock building. Check any other conditions relevant to your service and whether an authorised person can attend if you cannot.

Set the dates so you retain the services you need through cleaning and handover. Ask how the final bill will reach you abroad and whether your planned bank or card closure affects payment. Electricity, gas and water do not necessarily share the same process or final billing date.

4. Subscriptions and automatic payments

Review recent bank and card statements for recurring charges: a gym, coworking space, phone plan, insurance or other subscriptions. Cancel or change each contract with the company concerned and save its confirmation.

Closing the payment account isn't a substitute for ending the service agreement. Ask whether one more bill will be issued after cancellation and arrange a supported way to pay it. If a postal bill might arrive after you leave, agree how you'll receive the amount and payment instructions.

This is also a useful point to review any automatic-debit arrangements. Record the final debit date beside the bank's own departure requirements, rather than assuming you can leave an account open indefinitely.

5. Ward procedures: use your actual registration situation

If you registered as a resident, check your municipality's move-out procedure and any related health-insurance, pension or tax steps applicable to you. A short booking doesn't itself tell you whether you have resident obligations. Japanese citizens returning abroad may have them too.

Minato's moving-out page says its Mynaportal moving-out route cannot be used for an overseas move. Use your own municipality's instructions for the available submission methods, timing and documents. Don't assume the process you used for a move within Japan is identical.

If you're unsure whether a registration needs closing, ask the municipality with your planned departure date. Keep any submission records and contact details for follow-up.

6. Deposit: agree the calculation and the destination

Check your agreement for the deposit refund process, expected timing and deductions. For a building lease, Civil Code Article 622-2 addresses return of the deposit after the lease has ended and the property has been returned, less amounts owed under the lease. It doesn't supply a universal thirty-day refund promise.

Before handover, ask when you'll receive an itemised statement and how to query a deduction. Record the apartment's condition and returned keys. Compare the statement with fees already paid so you can ask about any apparent duplicate charge.

The refund destination needs to remain usable when the payment is made. Ask whether the money returns to the original card or by transfer, and confirm recipient details, currency and any fees. Don't assume a Japanese bank account is the only available route—or that an overseas transfer is available until the company confirms it.

7. Phone and bank: coordinate them before departure

Contact your bank before leaving and explain any final bills or refund expected after checkout. Ask whether the account can remain open, what services would be available and which updates or closure steps are required.

Japan Post Bank instructs customers moving out of Japan to close their accounts. Follow your bank's requirements. If closure is required before a refund is due, tell the housing company early and obtain written agreement on another supported refund method.

If the bank permits account retention, complete its required updates and confirm how you'll sign in from abroad. Before cancelling your Japanese phone plan, ask which services still depend on that number and what alternative verification methods are supported. Then agree a cancellation date and final charge with the carrier. Don't assume changing to a foreign number will work for every account.

Keep one departure record

A small table is enough: service, account holder, action deadline, equipment or appointment, final payment and confirmation received. Add the deposit's expected payment date and agreed destination.

Save the confirmations somewhere you'll be able to access after your Japanese phone and accounts have closed. If a final bill or refund is late, you'll have the account details and agreed dates to hand.